Like freshly baked bread, the Ukrainian military found themselves handing out Kalashnikovs to all adults willing to wield them. The message was clear; deterrence in numbers. This war has pushed the world through a period of militarization, some countries are rethinking their neutrality (see Finland and Sweden), others are rethinking their military spending (see Germany), some are just sitting tight while they wait for their turn to be invaded (see Taiwan), but for me the most interesting ones are those that are arming their citizens.
A huge win for 2A absolutists, yet hardly something I have not been surprised to see among democratic nations. Lithuania is, I think, the first European country to announce that all reservists can now own and keep assault rifles, sure, not an universal program, but it sets a trend. I’ll hardly be surprised if other countries in the area do not follow this trend.
When I first read Xenophon’s Anabasis, I was surprised that I’ve never seen 2A absolutists use this narrative to further their agenda, you see, Xenophon narrates the importance of a democratic and armed force to guarantee the survival of a collective. It is a powerful historical example of not only being armed, but being capable in combat as a group.
Finding themselves in foreign land, far from home Artaxerxes asked of Xenophon’s mercenary army to surrender their weapons, in exchange they would be given safe passage as they had no quarrel with them. To this offer, a debate among the Greek hoplites ruled that Artaxerxes was in no position to demand anything of them, furthermore retaining their weapons and their fighting capability would be the only guarantee of safety they would find on this foreign land. Their weapons, their proficiency and their cohesiveness carried them back safely to Hellenic land.
Today, we could argue, Putin demands of Ukraine to surrender their weapons, and Ukraine has ruled that being armed is what guarantees the survival of the state. Is it desirable for civilians to own and be proficient in the usage of weapons? I wouldn’t know how to answer that, every nation is different and faces different threats, but I’ll give you another question to ponder upon: Do you have faith in the state to keep you safe from internal or external threats?
